I'd prefer that as I haven't been there for ages. I do get takeaway from Soy every once in a while and the restaurant is pretty small.

crepe. I've been doing some googling in preparation for an upcoming trip to Brussels, and on a Belgian vegan forum it was mentioned in several places that Ethiopian food is NOT generally vegan because they cook everything in niter kebbeh, a kind of clarified butter similar to ghee. :(

Man, sometimes it feels like there are animal-product booby-traps everywhere. I'm trying to plan a dinner date with some omni friends and they don't seem that keen on any of the restaurants I recommended, and they keep saying "How about Indian? That's vegan friendly." and then I had to tell them that it's not because of the ghee, which makes me feel like I'm the one making it difficult for everyone, and that I'm just too picky or strict, even though they've rejected all the (omni-friendly) ideas I've come up with. One of them (who apparently didn't know I was vegan) replied with an e-mail where I could tell he didn't want to sound judgemental, but he used the word "strict" a couple of times (as in "I didn't know you were that strict").

Gah, sorry for the rant guys, but when I'm just taking care of my own needs (which is most of the time) veganism seems easy, but when trying to have a nice time out with friends or a weekend away with my bf (who's omni, picky, and has a lot of dietary issues), that sense of easiness just goes down the toilet. I'm just frustrated.

_________________I ate the shiitake out of inappropriateness. - Hollie

Have you tried calling restaurants to ask if they use ghee/butter and whether they can cook your meal in oil instead? (A bit of a nuisance, and not very practical impulsive dining out, but doable if you are planning the dinner date in advance).

We can call the Utrecht Ethiopian to ask what they use for cooking and whether they'd be willing to use oil for a group of hungry vegans.

Yeah, I've already offered to call a bunch of Indian places in Amsterdam to find out. The meetup with my friends isn't until the end of September, so I've got the time to do some scouting. I just had to vent my frustration. (I've been online all day trying to find some place that both my bf and I will be able to eat for our anniversary trip to Brussels, and dang it ain't easy.) I know I need to start getting more pro-active about asking/making requests at restaurants but I find it intimidating in NL, because the restaurant culture over here is so different than in N. American cities, and veganism is even less understood. Especially with my accent, I'm afraid of being pegged as the "pushy, picky American" (as has happened in other customer service situations).

Sorry for the derail. I'm just having a bad day.

More on track, Paloma lives in Utrecht, doesn't she? Hey Paloma! Are you in for the 8th? It would be great to meet you!

RE: Ethiopian in Utrecht, it seems Gnoe has been there before and maybe already knows what they use?

_________________I ate the shiitake out of inappropriateness. - Hollie

I haven't been to Sunshine in many years so that was in pre-vegan days. As a vegetarian I paid much less attention to ingredients. Also, I can relate to your feelings about 'having a nice dinner out'. I'm still a bit bashful about 'being difficult' and somehow I can't always seem to get across what vegan exactly means - the waiter kept repeating "vegetarian" last time I was in Namaskar. So I'm hoping someone else is volunteering to call Sunshine & find out. Or we could go to Soy anyway, depending how big a party we're getting together. ;)

How about Golden Temple (Utrechtse straat) for dinner with your friends? Or maybe they don't serve alcohol?

Gnoe, thanks for e-mailing them! I'm curious what they say. It would be great if we could go there!

RE: going to the Golden Temple, I love the place and the no-alcohol thing is not a problem but one of my friends (the one who didn't know I was so "strict") seems to be allergic to the idea of going someplace he can't get meat. I'll just have to get over my bashfulness and call around to some Indian places. I've been meaning to call a couple of Thai places that have been recommended too and find out if they use fish sauce in their veggie dishes.

Cornelie, good idea about PMing people. I'll be happy to send out a group PM. Just want to make sure we're not forgetting anyone: Paloma, Pickledtreats, Muffinpants... who else? Isn't Bonnie in NL? Lutin, Veg_Eric, Bun if you're still reading this thread, can you guys think of anyone else?

_________________I ate the shiitake out of inappropriateness. - Hollie

re: Ethiopian. I had no idea! But when I went to Sunshine last year, and the Ethiopian place I took everyone else in Amsterdam and said "hey, I'm vegan, what can I eat?" they brought me beautiful food and I didn't get sick. I know, I know. Not the best way to measure the vegan-ness of something, but I'm pretty sensitive to dairy and I was fine.

As for Indian: in India, restaurants = ghee. In California, around the Bay Area, restaurants don't use ghee. Here, I don't know - but it would surprise me if they did, especially if the dish sounded vegan.

I know I need to start getting more pro-active about asking/making requests at restaurants but I find it intimidating in NL, because the restaurant culture over here is so different than in N. American cities, and veganism is even less understood. Especially with my accent, I'm afraid of being pegged as the "pushy, picky American" (as has happened in other customer service situations).

It's not just you. I've got the same thing going on. For me personally, it's mostly the badly concealed contempt with which people deal with your request for vegan food. To be honest, I hardly ever feel comfortable enough to fully trust the places where they have to modify dishes for me - the traditional French type cuisine places. I'm still somewhat convinced that most cooks will just pick the cheese off a vegetarian meal and then spit in it to punish me for being difficult and taking up their time. Also, when they actually ARE willing to take non-vegan items out of my food, they never sub in something else instead. I get the goat cheese salad sans goat cheese, but god forbid they'd add some nuts or extra veggies, yet I pay the same.

I'm probably too sensitive for this vegan tug of war stuff. Also, I am thoroughly convinced that the Netherlands is a shitty place for being vegan because god forbid you'd stick your head out. Apparently we deserve being punished for being difficult. Or that we're not allowed to have preferences, because we're being difficult. And so forth. </rant>

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More on track, Paloma lives in Utrecht, doesn't she? Hey Paloma! Are you in for the 8th? It would be great to meet you!

Aw, thanks for thinking of me, lepelaar. :) I'm not sure whether I can make it. I have to work the 8th, but I'll keep checking in on this thread to see what you're going to be up to at what time. Maybe I can join in for some of the fun. :)

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RE: Ethiopian in Utrecht, it seems Gnoe has been there before and maybe already knows what they use?

I haven't been there yet, so I'm not much of a help there. Also, I'm in Berlin at the moment, so maybe Gnoe can give them a ring?

I'm still in, I just haven't been around the ppk much! We move in 12 days and I am so excited!

We will be spending the first few days in Amsterdam waiting to be allowed to move into our apartment, and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for restaurants to check out/avoid there? We are staying near the Vondelpark, so anything within walking distance of that area would be particularly helpful. I've used the Happy Cow listings to get some ideas, but any advice is welcome!

Friday I'm meeting my diss. co-chair for dinner, and we're going to an Indonesian place by The Dam™ which has a gorgeous veg. (I think also all vegan? except for the desserts) menu. http://www.restaurant-longpura.com/ He also recommended a Vietnamese place I want to try (he's been there 3x this week, and refuses to go on Friday with me), which apparently has an extensive veg. (he thinks mostly vegan) menu: http://www.iens.nl/restaurant/32695/ams ... iss-saigon . I'm also pretty excited about the Dosa place on Overtoom. ...I have no idea whether any of that is close to you - I rarely go to Amsterdam, and when I do, it's to the VU.